Ireland in €10m boost to UN humanitarian fund

It will help particularly vulnerable countries in their response to the virus, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The infection is beginning to sweep through Africa and concern has been expressed about lack of intensive care unit beds.

Minister Simon Coveney said: “We are doing everything possible to ease the impact of the crisis here in Ireland and are making a difference.

“But as we stay at home to protect our most vulnerable, there are millions of vulnerable people around the world who lack access to such basics as clean water and soap and who need our help if they are to stay safe and well.

“Helping them is not only the right thing, an expression of our values of solidarity, generosity and compassion, it is also the sensible thing for Ireland to do.”

He added: “That is why today I have allocated €10m from the Irish Aid programme to the UN’s global humanitarian appeal, which help meet the most basic and urgent needs of the world’s most vulnerable communities as they resist Covid-19.”

The additional €10m will be allocated to the WHO’s Covid appeal (€3.5m); UNHCR’s Covid appeal (€3m); the World Food Programme in Uganda (€1m), WHO in Uganda (€830,000); WHO in Tanzania (€0.5m); Unicef in Tanzania (€500,000); and Unicef in Malawi (€0.5m) and €315,000 funding under Ireland’s Emergency Response Fund mechanism to NGOs for projects aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe, Gaza and Malawi.